20 Amazing Festivals Around The World

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

It’s a beautiful world out there, time to get exploring. There’s no better time to visit a place than when everyone’s in the streets partying it up. Street parties, carnivals, national pride, a week in a desert with tech billionaires and artists, here’s Travelstart’s guide to traveling the world one unforgettable party at a time.

Let the Good times Roll in New Orleans – Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras in the US is synonymous with the city of New Orleans. People have been partying on “fat Tuesday” here since 1837. Expect street parades, big jazz bands, colourful costumes and Louisiana hot sauce.

Orange it up on Koningsday in the Netherlands

The Dutch are famously proud of their royal family so why not join in on their celebrations of the King’s Birthday. Absolutely everything from the food to the clothes is orange. Hop on a boat, grab an orange pastry and enjoy along with up to a million other people.

Where’s Santa? Santa Con, San Francisco

This fun and mischievous event has cities around the world flooding with thousands of bearded santas. Begun in San Francisco in 1994 as a way to raise money for local charities, every year sees a huge number of bearded santas crowd the San Francisco CBD.

Day of the Dead, Mexico

The Day of the Dead is a beautiful Mexican festival celebrating the lives of beloved friends and family members who have passed away.
Marigold flowers are used to honour the graves of the dead and people dress up to celebrate. Each town has its own unique traditions.

La Tomatino Festival

Is there a messier, crazier holiday than La Tomatina in the Valencian town of Buñol? Since 1945 It has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during the week of festivities of Buñol though in the early days it was banned several times. For an hour festival goers hurl tomatoes at each other.
A benefit of the tomato paste is that the acidity cleans the town thoroughly. Number one rule: no other projectiles except tomatoes must be hurled.

Afrika Burn

Set in the dusty, beautiful Tankwa desert in the Karoo this festival of art and music is a smaller version of the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. Go for the astounding stars in the clear sky and incredible artwork. This year’s theme is literally “X”.

Burning Man

The original alternative, steampunk-inspired festival is Afrika Burn on a much larger scale.
These days some say the original spirit is somewhat diluted by the presence of tech billionaires though the scale of the artworks is unmatched anywhere. Black Rock City, Nevada

Revelry at the Rio Carnival

Possibly the greatest party on earth, the carnival in Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo is the sort of insane street parade where you might get lost for days. The costumes are glittering bird of paradise creations and locals practice their samba moves throughout the year.

The Largest Indie Film Fest in the US – the Sundance Film Festival

Founded by Robert Redford, this indie film festival saw 46,731 attend in 2012. Festivals like this support the art of making smaller, high-quality independent films. You’ll get to attend premieres, panel discussions with actors, producers and directors and enjoy the cosy winter small-town landscape.

Cape Town Pride

Everyone is welcome to celebrate LGBTQI rights at this fantastic festival held in Cape Town each year. The festival is a fun way to create awareness and have a massive party with beautiful people in the gorgeous city of Cape Town.

Celebrate love at the Holi Festival of Colours

This is a religious Hindu festival which has been appropriated all over the world. It is worth traveling to Nepal to celebrate it as it was meant to be celebrated in conjunction with a Holika bonfire. The powdered corn starch is thrown into the air along with water balloons in a playful celebration of life and love.

Cherry Blossom Festival, Japan

Celebrate spring at the annual cherry blossom festivals held throughout Japan in April. The delicate blossoms turn towns into fairylands. For something a little closer to home, we can visit the Ficksburg Cherry festival near Bloemfontein.

SXSW, Austin Texas

A cultural explosion of musicians, writers and this year even politicians as President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are hearlded as keynote address speakers for this year’s event in uber cool Austin, Texas.

Yi Peng, Thailand

In Northern Thailand in Chiang Mai this is a sight to behold as delicate lanterns are released into the sky in their thousands while in the Southern parts of Thailand offerings of flowers and incense are released into the water for Loi Krathong.

Diwali

The festival of lights is an important Hindu religious festival celebrating the victory of light over darkness or good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. Whole cities are beautifully lit by lights and candles.

St Patrick’s Day

In two weeks Irish expats all over the world will be celebrating the joyful and indomitable Irish spirit with pints of beer dyed green. New York is famous for its St Patrick’s Day Parade and even as far afield as Bangkok there are wild celebrations.